AHMEDABAD: The road to the American dream has hit a fresh speed breaker—visa appointments have suddenly gone off the radar for thousands of students planning to fly to the US this summer. While the Jan intake went smoothly for students securing visa appointment slots well in time, the situation over the past 20-25 days is starkly different.
According to travel industry experts, ever since mid-March, the unavailability of visa interview appointments has left aspirants as well as visa consultants in a fix. “Students received April slots when they booked appointments in Feb or early March. Now, appointment dates for May are not available at all. They’ve secured admissions and I-20 forms from universities but are under tremendous stress due to the uncertainty in scheduling visa interviews,” said Maulin Joshi, a city-based visa consultant.
“Ironically, the post-election period late last year saw one of the smoothest visa cycles in recent memory. Students scheduled to join universities during the January intake got quick appointments. That ease is missing now, and it’s worrying,” he added.
Industry sources say that the recent crackdown by the US Embassy in India also had its impact. “The US Embassy is currently upgrading its systems to plug loopholes that were being misused through AI-based bots and illegal methods to grab visa appointment slots. While there’s no official word from the embassy, we presume student visa dates have temporarily disappeared from the system. While these measures aim to make the process fairer for genuine applicants, the uncertainty has added to the anxiety—especially when refusal rates were already quite high over the past few years. Students are feeling the pressure as timelines get tighter,” said Janak Nayak, an immigration consultant.
This visa vacuum has persisted for nearly three weeks, with no clarity on when fresh slots will open. “We’ve been checking the portal daily, but it’s blank. No slots for student visas since March 10. If this continues, many students may miss their Fall 2025 intake timelines,” said Bhavin Thaker, another foreign education consultant.
Industry players suggest that last year while appointments were available, refusal rates were fairly high, which left students anxious. “With the new govt taking charge in the US after elections, there are a number of changes in the US immigration policies, which has further left students worried. With no official communication on when the US student visa appointment slots will open, the students are under tremendous pressure for navigating their admissions and higher education plans in the US,” said Ritesh Desai, another visa consultant from Ahmedabad, who has seen a sharp rise in student walk-ins with similar concerns.